


Putting the Toddlers to Sleep

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Annie and Connie are in there for a bit too, Canon Compliant, Cuddling, Gen, Kink Meme, M/M, Multi, Trainee Days, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 09:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1773979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Jean may fight a lot, but that's just how they get each other's attention. They do other things too, after all, like cuddle under trees. Sometimes they even get others involved!</p><p>Fill for a kinkmeme prompt!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Putting the Toddlers to Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> [Also on tumblr](http://fleetingkisses.tumblr.com/post/88564935816/putting-the-toddlers-to-sleep)! Original kinkmeme prompt [here](http://snkkink.dreamwidth.org/8414.html?thread=8329694#cmt8329694).

Eren swung his foot and immediately recoiled, holding it up and gripping the front of his ankle with his hand. "Ow, that fricken…hurts!" He gasped and called out. Annie's stance was unbroken, Eren's piddly little kick having no effect on her. Soon thereafter Eren was on the ground.

"It's…getting better," Annie offered, looking down at him from aside. "Your kick has a little bit more power to it than before,"

"You…you really think so…?" Eren asks slowly. It was welcome news, despite whatever he felt when he examined the unchanging results of the past week. Annie just never fell. She helped him up with a hand.

"Yeah, I do. Anyone would have been down with that," she offered the smallest grin.

"Haha, yeah, anyone but you," Eren laughed lightly. She patted his arm.

"Maybe I will, if you keep at it," she then backed up and resumed her personal fighting stance.

"A-again!?" Eren asked, despairing. Conditioning had him going back to the stance already, but he wasn't even sure if he could stand fully on the ankle yet. Normally she would have avoided it, not let it connect so firmly to her own ankle…

"Hey, you never know what conditions you might face - maybe you'll need to do it ten or twenty times in a row," Annie's presence became tense. It was needless to say that the next twenty times, Annie never met the ground once.

.

.

.

They had rotated sparring partners three times now, and to the displeasure of everyone around them, it was THOSE two who ended up paired together in the last rotation.

"How you gonna fight when you're limping around like that!"

"Shut up! Unlike you, I actually try and would stand a chance in a real fight, probably,"

"Hah! 'Probably'. See? You even know you wouldn't,"

"Eat shit! It's better than nothing!"

They went on like that for a bit. One was so full of hot air and the other just couldn’t give up unless someone held him down and told him to. Jean pranced back a few steps, avoiding Eren's fumbling sweep. It was fumbling because when he leaned on the one ankle, he had cut his kick early. They went back and forth again, though most of it was Eren attacking Jean and Jean hopping away on his toes.

"Are you going to at least try to attack me??" Eren breathed heavily, stopping for a moment. He shifted from the stance that they were being trained in to Annie's stance.

"And what, wound you further? I'd rather not beat on someone who's already limping around like a lame duck," Jean relaxed.

"I can take it! I'll have you on the floor again just like before, so c'mon!" Eren said with more determination than he had just five seconds ago.

"What's the point! What would be the point of knocking you around a little??" Jean eased back into the combat stance, though it was markedly half-assed.

"It would get me used to it - who knows when I might need to take on six guys in a row! The last one isn't gonna say, 'oh I'd rather not beat on someone who's already limping around,'" Eren looked at Jean with his hard eyes.

"…Fine, but can I at least go a little easy on you?" Jean frowned, readying himself.

"…I guess. If you must." Eren and Jean were now ready, and Eren gestured for Jean to advance. "Though I'd rather you not," he said finally and then Jean sprung forward. Finally Jean actually launched some form of assault and Eren bounced lightly up and down, blocking and avoiding what he could.

Jean's punches were kind of wide and he didn't use any of the kicks they were taught, but he was pretty strong - Eren blocked a right hook and stumbled back a step. Then a straight came forward and he just barely managed to avoid it, Jean's knuckles grazing his cheek. And as he gave a quick straight punch himself, Jean taking it on his forehead, having ducked low, Eren had Jean's hard shoulder shoved into his chest as Jean tackled him.

Eren almost tripped but he stayed standing, Jean a couple feet in front of him. Eren struggled to breathe for a couple seconds, but soon his lungs had air in them again. Jean began to speak, "Have you had enough or-"

"Your punches are too lazy, they don't have enough form!" But Eren cut him off. Jean looked at him almost incredulously. "Keep your arms a little more hooked when you go for hooks, they aren't hook-y enough." Eren said with finality.

"You're…you're such an idiot!" Jean still hadn't recovered from the disbelief.

"Wh…what?! It's true, you're the idiot! If you punches did happen to connect, the most they'd do is knock me around!" Eren raised his voice.

"You can't even beat me back!" Jean, still, tried to fathom the situation, Eren lecturing him despite being so dustied and worn, but he had difficulty none the less.

"Because I want you to attack me! But you're so bad at it! A toddler would probably put up more of a fight!!" Eren didn't know, genuinely, why Jean seemed so confused. Jean just gave him the same look. "Why are you looking at me like that?! C-c'mon! We don't have that much time left, you know…"

"You know what? No, I give up," Jean rested his forehead in his palm, then looked away to the instructors, who were chatting idly while only one observed everyone else.

"H-hey, why! You can hold back if you want, but we should try to get as much in as we can!" Eren's eyes widened a little and he took a step forward. Jean ignored him. "Jean! C'mon, look, my ankle isn't even hurting me anymore!" And it really wasn't, as Eren showed Jean who looked from the corner of his eye, but it didn't change the outcome at all.

For the last eight or so minutes of their sparring time, Eren spent it fuming and practising some punches and kicks on his own. He tried to picture it was Jean he was hitting sometimes, but that only made him feel more confused and a little sad, for whatever reason, than angry. So he stuck to just imagining a vague, general target.

On the way back to take attendance, Eren and Jean stuck together again, like magnets, Armin noted.

"We could have done so much, if you weren't so scared of nothing!" Eren crossed his arms, looking away but walking at Jean's side.

"M-me? How is this my fault!?" Jean choked a little at the accusation.

"You're the one who stopped and just stood there, looking at clouds!" Eren spun around, throwing his hands up.

"Only because you're such an idiot! A suicidal idiot! Nothing's changed!" Jean barked back, meeting Eren's eyes.

"It wouldn't have been suicide! Maybe I would have kicked your ass! In fact, I would have!" Eren yelled.

"That’s not what I meant! You're a suicidal idiot, but other times you're just a plain idiot," Jean waved him off.

"Stop calling me an idiot!!" Eren grabbed Jean's shirt and turned him to face Eren.

"I'll stop calling you an idiot when it stops being true!!" Jean yelled back equally loud in Eren's face.

"You're the idiot! You're…you're just a horse face idiot." Eren shoved Jean and turned forward to quicken his pace.

"What'd you call me?!" Jean placed a hand on Eren's shoulder, but Eren moved out of his grip in a swift, fluid motion.

"Oh, so you can call me names all you like, but the moment I call you anything, it's so wrong!" Eren glared Jean down but still wouldn't let Jean catch up to him, turning his course a little whenever Jean leapt up to his side or speeding forward if Jean tried to slow him down.

They made noise all the way to check in, were quiet while attendance and afternoon orientation was given, then immediately resumed fighting with each other the moment they stepped out of the building.

"How can they go on for so long?!" Marco looked at them from afar as they wandered down the encampment paths.

"They're both just stupid enough to think they're smarter than the other," Connie glanced at them boredly and scratched behind his neck. The two of them were walking to the kitchens for cleaning duty as the officials there were preparing supper.

"They can go on, can't they…?" Armin said a little nervously as he walked in and joined them.

"Right?? I kind of don't like hanging around with Jean when he gets like that, especially towards Eren," Marco sighed, exasperated.

"Don't you mean only towards Eren? They're literally the only two who ever do that, and almost regularly at that." Connie said with bold disdain, making a gesture as though disgusted.

"It's funny how they don't just avoid each other…but it's as if they just never get tired of it," Armin looked at the dusty ground in front of them.

"Eh, leave 'em, I say. Maybe if they're too busy arguing, we'll get their share of dinner," Connie yawned. Marco made it a mental note to mention it to Armin if Eren and Jean didn't return in time to eat.

.

.

.

"…Really? Under a tree?" Eren looked at Jean unimpressed.

"Whaaaat, I've had my eye on this spot for a week!" Jean shrugged grandly as he leaned back on his hands. He was sitting in the shade under a tree, Eren just paces away.

"Next you'll be writing me a song and playing it on an instrument or something, I swear," Eren crossed his arms, still not stepping forward.

"-What? No, what the hell, I just want to do it right here," Jean furrowed his brow. "We haven't done it here yet! Look at it and tell me this grass don't look soft."

Eren looked around at the grass Jean was sitting on and fiddling with. "…Okay, fine, but if bugs crawl all over me, it's your duty to pick each and every one off of me,"

"Yeah! Okay. Deal," Jean nodded and threw his jacket aside. Eren began taking off his jacket as well as he made his way to Jean, moving down to kneel on his knees. Jean quickly grabbed him though and pulled him down onto the ground, nuzzling into Eren's neck and wrapping a leg around Eren's.

"Wh-! W-wow, enthusiastic, aren't we?" Eren shifted around a bit then laid his jacket over the both of them, snaking his arm under Jean and hugging him back. Moving about just a little bit more and he got comfy with his lips and nose resting against Jean's head, in his hair.

"I've…the first thing I said to myself when I saw this little hill and tree was that me and you had to cuddle under it - it was so perfect!" Jean said, audibly joyful, as he pressed his face onto the sweet spot where Eren's shoulder met his neck.

"I-it's nice! It is." Eren agreed, speaking into Jean's hair.

"…You are okay with it, aren't you? I-I mean, if you really don't want to…" Jean began to loosen a little, but Eren quickly held him tightly against himself.

"No! I…I love it. It's just…I dunno, a little cliché or something, don't you think? I'm a little embarrassed, I guess," Eren trailed off on the last bit.

"Ohh, well sorry for wanting nice things," Jean said, but was smiling as he re-nuzzled into Eren. He put an exaggerated tone on his words to top it off.

"I didn't know horse face idiots wanted such nice things," Eren moved the hand on top of Jean to link with the one that came out from under him. Jean's were, meanwhile, wrapped firmly around Eren's chest.

"Shut up, suicidal idiot. At least I don't fight pointless battles," Jean said back.

"At least I try to do things - you just give up when you don't think you can win,"

"Because often times it’s the smarter thing to do,"

"And often times it’s the wrong thing to do,"

"Yeah, like fighting when your ankle is already sore is the right thing to do - what if you broke it??"

"I said it was fine! And it was! I still don't know why you just gave up,"

"Because you're an idiot!"

"That's what you said last time!"

"It's still true, that's why??"

"No, Jean, really, why did you give up sparring with me?" Eren's tone even sounded a little personally hurt, and Jean knew he was cornered.

"B-because…you stopped halfway through to lecture my form," Jean moved his head, blowing one of Eren's shirt strings from away from his mouth.

"…?? But it was sloppy, though. I thought it would help you," Eren puzzled over Jean's reason.

"N-no, not…not that, it's just. I dunno, you're an idiot. Plain and simple." Jean could find no way to explain how Eren just stopping everything - a sparring match, while being driven back, with his own wounds as it is - to point out the flaws in his opponent's punches caught Jean just so off guard.

"I still don't get it…" Eren grumbled, and then they were quiet. They laid there for a while, Jean nuzzled into Eren's neck, Eren resting his head against Jean's, with Jean's still snuggly wrapped around Eren's chest while Eren's linked around Jean, and Jean's leg over Eren's. Then they both stirred.

"Position change?" Jean asked.

"Yeah," Eren said and they came apart. Eren yawned and stretched as Jean asked him,

"How should we do it now?" He scratched the back of his head.

"Can I be on top of you?" Eren glanced back, but couldn't see the camps over the hill, and he wasn't willing to get up or crane around just to see if it was almost dinner time yet. They'll just have to wait for the bell tolls, he guessed.

"Yeah, sure, you want me lying face up or on my belly?" Jean got ready to lay back.

"Eh, you can decide," Eren shrugged. And so Jean reclined with an arm behind his head and Eren climbed onto him, resting his head on the upper areas of Jean's chest, Jean's other arm resting on Eren's back. "I can hear your heartbeat," Eren mused out loud.

"Well I hope so," Jean moved to grab Eren's jacket and put it over them then folded his arm over Eren again.

"I mean, even though my ear's way over here, I can still hear it beating," Eren got comfy, his arms coming to rest under Jean's, and closed his eyes.

"It's only a couple of inches away…" Jean blinked, looking off into the sky.

"…It's just nice to hear it sometimes, I guess." Eren relented, and Jean was, for whatever reason, awash in the realisation that maybe he really does give Eren a hard time more than he needed.

"I could hear yours too," Jean said after a beat or two passed, bringing his hand up to play idly in Eren's hair.

"…You don't have to do that, you know," Eren's eyes had drifted open.

"What, play with your hair?" Though Jean knew what Eren meant.

"No, I mean…when you be all nice after you think you've offended me or whatever," Eren's hand moved up from resting against Jean's neck into the short area of his hair. With his thumb, he began to feel the soft, coarse hair there. "You don't need to do that,"

"But, what if I…what if I want to do, and stuff," Jean didn't stop lazily closing and opening his fingers in Eren's hair.

"Well…I don't want you to think that you have to. I can roll with it, I won't take it personally or anything,"

"I-I know you can…I just, don't want you to think I have such a low opinion of you as to disagree whenever I can or whatever, you know what I mean? 'Cause I…'cause I don't have a low opinion of you, or whatever,"

"I know…I don't have a low opinion of you either,"

"…G-good." And then they were mostly quiet again, only broken once when Jean asked a long while if Eren was still awake, and Eren said he was. Then Eren rubbed his face against Jean's shirt, to scratch an itch, and rose on his hands.

"Change positions?" Jean asked before Eren could say it, and Eren nodded.

"This time let me hug you from behind." Eren said firmly.

"Well, okay," Jean took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air, and the two shifted around. This wasn't a position they did often, since it was really just Eren who would want it, seeing as how Jean didn't really know what to do besides just lie there and hold Eren's hands when he could. He much liked it more when he could hold Eren back somehow, but that was just his preferences, he surmised. If anything, he felt a little awkward with Eren holding him so fervently and with no way to return it.

"Do you really think I'm an idiot?" Eren asked after a long time. Eren asked him this a couple times in the past, but most of the time he was satisfied with Jean saying that no, he really doesn't deep down.

"I don't, not truly…" Jean said in a quiet voice.

"Then why do you say it so much?" Apparently now, though, Eren wasn't satisfied with just that answer. Jean looked at the grass and thought about how to respond…

"I don't know…to rile you up?" Jean tried to tread safely.

"Is that really it…?" Eren sounded sincere, like he was ready to believe whatever Jean would tell him. And Jean just couldn't lie to him…

"Well, I guess…I just don't see why anyone would want to face the titans head on, you know? If you look at how many people die, and how low the success rate of the missions are, there's no hope…" Jean made his tone as soft as he could.

"…You're wrong. There's always hope, we just have to find something, anything, and we can make progress. The only hopeless thing is to hide away and wait for another wall to fall." Eren's voice came behind Jean just as soft, but beneath it there existed that very firm belief that was there since day one.

"I see what you mean, but on an individual scale, the risk of death is just so massive, that-" Jean was cut off by the sudden approach of a voice. The two boys sat up as Armin walked by, looking around, questioning to himself where Jean and Eren could have gotten to.

"Hey, Armin!" Eren called out, and Armin's gaze snapped back.

"There you guys are!" Armin scampered over and then slowed when he noticed how close they were sitting. "…What were you guys doing?"

"Just cuddling, spending time together…talking. You know," Eren said, looking at Jean. Jean glanced away when Eren mentioned that they were talking.

"O-oh, okay, I see…well, dinner will be ready in half an hour, you guys want to come early?" Armin offered and they looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"Nah, I think we're gonna stay here a bit longer." Jean said, giving a small half-shrug.

"Ah, all right. Uhm, should I come get you then when it's ready?" Armin rocked on his feet.

"Uhh…how about you join us!" Eren piped up. Armin looked at Jean, but Jean only shrugged again.

"What do I…I guess so, okay," Armin walked over and kneeled beside them.

"Does anyone want to be in the middle?" Eren asked out loud and neither jumped at the chance.

"I'd be okay with it, if everyone else is," Jean said plainly, and Eren was already lying down, getting ready to resume his position. "You all right with that?" Jean asked Armin.

"I…guess…" Armin said, and Jean lied down as well. Armin kind of looked at him blankly.

"Well? C'mon, come here," Jean gestured with his hands. Armin lied down on his back and Jean pulled him close, his chin coming to rest on Armin's head. "Any ways, where was I…?"

"You were saying the risk of death is so massive, that…something. I think it is, but the chance of change in the long run is what makes it worth it." Eren said and the two easily resumed their exchange, leaving Armin to move around in an effort to get comfy. Jean was very accommodating.

"But if you're not there to witness it, how is it worth it?" Jean asked.

"Maybe I won't be there to witness it, but if others can, then that's good enough for me. If I end up dying while freeing humanity from our cage, then I'll die satisfied." Eren's conviction gave his words a particular bite…Jean shifted a little.

"But…Eren…what about the people close to you? You might not be afraid of dying, but what about the people who don't want you to die?" Jean began slowly at first, but soon he spoke well.

"The people close to me…" Eren paused for a bit - repeating it to himself made it sound no less ironic. "I'll have to tell them to stop being so selfish." It was quiet again after that.

Armin wasn't sure what he should be doing. He had sort of nestled into Jean, and Jean as holding him comfortably enough, but the conversation couldn't help but make him feel like he should have turned down their offer. Or not have come at all.

In the quiet, footsteps were easily heard to be approaching. "Who's it now…?" Eren perked up.

"Ah, it must be Marco! I told him I was going to walk this way, he must have noticed I haven't come back," Armin said, sitting up. Sure enough, Marco poked around the tree.

"So you found them! They were…sleeping?" Marco had no more of an idea of what to make of the situation as Armin had when he came by. "And I guess you are too…?"

"Oh, umm…no we were just," Armin began but didn't know how to say it without sounding awkward.

"We were just talking, mostly," Jean filled in, and then Eren followed suit, the two sitting up as well.

"You know, spending time together and stuff." Eren said.

"They invited me to cuddle, haha," Armin found an opening to clear his name, and took it.

"Oh, that's cool," Marco came around and stood above them. "Dinner's ready in ten, wanna get going?"

Armin was about to say something, but Jean and Eren had already exchanged knowing glances, and Eren spoke up again. "There's still some time - how about you join us as well?"

"J-join you??" Marco was more outwardly flustered than Armin was.

"Yeah, just lie down with us for a bit, then when the bell tolls, we'll all go and eat," Jean explained, and Marco shrugged.

"Sure, I don't see the harm in it…" Marco rubbed at his nose.

"Come to my side, I want someone behind me too," Eren said, patting the ground beside him, and Marco obeyed.

"Is it all right if I turn around? I want to talk to Eren more," Jean asked as Eren and Marco figured out their positions.

"Yeah! That's fine. Should I just…sort of," Armin made a move to put his arms around Jean.

"Or we could switch if you want! I could talk over you just fine, if you'll feel left out," Jean offered but Armin shook his head quickly.

"No no! I'm good." And so they were all on the ground, their jackets off, with Eren's covering him and Jean, and Marco and Armin at the edges. Armin held Jean from behind, his arms around Jean's midsection, and the same with Marco, though one of his arms was folded and acted like a pillow for Eren.

Eren and Jean, though, were holding hands, and their legs were a tangle down below. They were very close together as well.

"So what did you want to say?" Eren asked simply.

"Oh, uh, just that…u-uhm," Jean fumbled now that he was on the spot.

"If you want to continue talking to me about the Scouting Legion…" Eren began, but Jean shook his head.

"No, well, sort of - I guess what I want to say is that I don't think you're an idiot. I really don't. You might be loud, and clumsy, and maybe I thought you were stupid at first, and you still do stupid things, but I know that…that…" Jean stopped to swallow. When he didn’t begin, Eren squeezed his hands and brought one up to press his lips against Jean's fingers.

"You can say it later if you want," Eren offered.

"What I want to say is this: I know that YOU aren't stupid. I might have a first, but that changed…really fast, too," Jean was looked away.

"Mm…okay. That…makes me really happy…" Eren said, trying not to grin too broadly. He leaned his forehead against Jean's and Jean huffed a little.

"G-good. B-because it's true." Meanwhile, Marco and Armin didn't know if they should just keep quiet or try to excuse themselves.

.

.

.

The bell finally began tolling and that's when Armin slowly undid himself from their little pile. He got up and looked at Marco, who was whispering desperately for help. Lifting Eren's head gently, Marco undid himself as well. The two stood up and smiled incredulously at each other.

"Do they do this often?" Armin asked, and Marco let out a small laugh.

"I was about to ask you the same! Should we…should we wake them?" Marco looked them over. They were still entangled, hands linked together at their chest and their foreheads still touching.

"I…I don’t know. They look so peaceful." Armin said.

"They…do, there's no denying that." Marco shook his head lightly.

"I guess just leave them…" Armin gathered his jacket, double checking that it was his.

"Well, okay…should we save them some dinner then?" Marco ruffled his own hair.

"Yeah, we'll just say that they were so exhausted from training or something that they had to rest or something," Armin began to walk away, but stopped to put Jean's jacket over them as well.

"Sounds good to me…after you," Marco said, allowing Armin to go first, and the two walked off.


End file.
